Saturday, August 31, 2013

Your friendly neighborhood artist here at your disposal ( and that is SO sarcastic - because I'm the furthest thing from an artist that there could be )
Although being an artist certainly is starting to be a term people use most loosely - if you want to giggle
check out a true ARTIST HERE - seriously - you won't believe your eyes ( and if you are related to that particular artist - well then I'm sorry - and I'm just an ignoramus - because I don't get it )

BUT - every now and then an " idea " is born and I attempt to do something on a canvas ( and that's a very loose term - because it's usually an old scap piece of wood ). I created these for my kids last fall - made one each and put lyrics that meant something to each of them. You can see details of it HERE

They seemed to be quite popular and are SO easy to do - that I decided to do another one with a step by step tutorial for you today..............it didn't come out as nice as the first ones because I was in a hurry to
get things done and didn't do as many buildings on this one

I only had very thin pieces of plywood to use - the first batch were made on pieces of wood boards actually.
So I started off with my " canvas "

I gave it a quick coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Pure White

John says - PLEASE don't paint on the dining room table
Suzan says - It's my EASEL - and please don't stifle my creativity
John says - We use that to eat on - PLEASE
John says - No wonder I can never find a a recycle bag - HAVE YOU BEEN USING THEM FOR DROP CLOTHS???????????

I've been wanting to paint this table for over 2 years now - John is standing firm against the idea - I figure if I have enough " accidents " on it - he'll have no choice but to let me do it LOL
Ok - ready to see an artist in motion?
Take notice of my clean fluid strokes everyone -
and especially my tools!!!

A Sharpie and a Ruler - LMHO
Now I can draw stick figures AND buildings - SHUT THE DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!

For a city silhouette I make them as close as possible with different roof lines and add some smoke stacks ( chimney's? ) for interest

and I ALWAYS add a Church

Montreal is a city of Churches ( more per capita than anywhere else in North America apparently )
so a city skyline without one is inconceivable to me !!!

Ok - at this point John said the funniest thing he's ever said before ( well concerning the blog anyway )
I'm dying of laughter here.............and like usual he's dead serious !!!
I'm sitting at the computer uploading these images

John says - WHAT are you doing?
Suzan says - I'm giving a tuturorial on how to make these
John says - ARE YOU INSANE???
John says - You could sell these on your blog - why the hell are you telling everyone how to make them???
Suzan says - If you're expecting people to line up to buy these John you're in a dream world here!
John says - Well that's another lost opportunity ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Suzan says - Why do all your get-rich-quick schemes always involve me and a paintbrush?
Suzan says - Please go invent something................leave me alone, I'm blogging

OMG - I'm laughing my head off - I can barely type to finish this ..................
Hey John - You've got HIGH hopes - high hopes - high in the sky apple pie hopes................
Should I have these patented LMHO???

Ok - let's continue............I left the backgrounds white on the ones I made for my kids - on this one I decided to paint a grey sky.................just dry brushing once again -
I used Graphite and White chalk paint because I was out of Paris Grey -
It's completely ok to paint over some of the " buildings " at this point because they're all going to be filled in with the Graphite color anyway..............

I then added some Old Violet here and there - again only dry brushing -

Ok - now we paint the buildings - if you want to make Graphite a pure black - you can add some black pigment to the mix - I didn't have any so I added black craft paint - and if any of you tell Annie Sloan that I'll never speak to you again!!!

I paint the black in one direction only - up/down - and I do it thick for " texture "
And this is how it looks when you're finished ( or in this case almost finished )

I left the one I did for my Son like the above - completely black - but I usually dry brush some white over the buildings at this point..............in the opposite direction that the black was painted in - so side to side.
This allows the texture to show ..............

it almost gives the effect of a rainy twilight - with moon glow just starting to creep in
oops - have to work on that steeple and cross a little!

Stay tuned - I'm working on a Paris one now.................BECAUSE

Tomorrow is day ONE of GIVE AWAYS ( to celebrate 1000 GFC followers )
There'll be 6 different days and there may be a little bit a lot of Paris involved
Have a great Sunday everyone
Much love,Suzan yells - John the first piece is ready for the Art Gallery!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, August 30, 2013

When I began blogging I had no idea - absolutely no idea - the friendships that were waiting in store for me literally at my fingertips. I had no idea I was about to embark on a journey that would have me meeting and becoming close friends with people all over North America and beyond - well beyond - from Europe to Australia and New Zealand.............and that people would connect with me - " get " me - ( my craziness and all ) has at times left me feeling completely overwhelmed.

We're strangers no more.
We know our children's names - our husband's names ( if there is in fact one ) we mourn each other's losses.
Deeply.
We celebrate each other's achievements.
We tease - cajole - and above all encourage.
We laugh - out loud
We cry - silently
We giggle and sniffle and giggle some more.
We offer praise - and suggestions - and give advice
We welcome newborns into the world
We say good-bye to those that have left
We do so collectively - as a whole - and when we decide to lift
some one up who's fallen - we hold " virtual " hands to do so, so that our " sister"
knows we're there.

It's a world where one day you casually mention that you would like to start a heart collection because of a clients collection you once saw - and fell instantly in love with ( you can read about that client's collectionHERE - It's amazing and worth it to see !!! )
And the next day you have an email from a friend thousands of miles away

Who tells you she would like to help you get started with that collection...............
And then proceeds to make the most incredible gift for you

This friend of yours - this very dear friend of yours - whom you have never met - has taken the time to create something with you in mind.............

Carol, I was touched beyond words to receive this - you'll never know how much your gift represents the
true essence of blogging for me..............of course when I look at it I'll think of you - my sweet colorful friend in California - but more than that - it truly represents how deeply connected this sisterhood of blogging really is and how I would be lost without it at this point in my life..................

John says - There's a package for you
Suzan says - Oh I think I know what it is!!!

But I wasn't prepared for the wave of emotions that flooded my heart the moment I saw it.

John says - What are you crying for now?
Suzan says - Because this represents my blog sisters John - one in particular but all of them in general
John says - Sometimes you make no sense at all....................why would a string of hearts make you cry?

He has no idea the metaphors that are racing through me - because this gift completely tugs at my heart strings.

When I think of blogging - I think of William Wordsworth's famous poem

For oft, when on my couch I lieIn vacant or in pensive moodThey flash upon that inward eyeWhich is the bliss of solitudeAnd then my heart with pleasure fillsAnd dances with the daffodils

Yes, my heart with pleasure fills, indeed.
Thank you for letting me dance with you everyday
I don't think I mention that near enough..............

Please take a moment to visit Carol from ART and SAND (one of the prettiest blogs out there - if you don't know her you are in for such a treat - and while you're there, completely mesmerized by what she does - take a look at what Steve, her husband, does as well )

Ok Suzan - enough with the soppy crap - THIS is why I try to keep my posts light and humorous lol
So before I start crying here again,
Much love to all -
Carol, you are amazing..................thank you for my Heart Strings once again

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Welcome to bloglovin' and blog hopping Thursday once again! We are so happy to be joining together to bring you the bloglovin' Blog Hop to help grow our blogs. It's always a great idea to have many ways for friends to follow your blog.

Each week we rotate one other social media to follow. This week we are adding your blog and Pinterestalong with bloglovin'! As a bonus this week we are leaving the Hometalk link up! Friends can hop on over to visit your blog.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us last week. We hope you made some new friends!

Please follow each hostess, and leave us a comment so we can return the follow! Please follow your hostesses and visit other at least 3 or 4 other links!

We would love to feature a co-host each week, so please send one of us an email if you would like to be a co-host. We would love for you to join us!

Please link up your bloglovin' follow link. To find your URL, just click on your follow by bloglovin' button. Copy and past the URL link. That's all there is to it!

Thank you so much for joining us! We hope you make many new friends and followers each week.

Not mandatory, but we would love for you to share our blog hop button. That's a great way for us to all gain new friends.

It's no secret that I'm a little obsessed with Paris for those of you that have been following for awhile.
For many years John and I stayed at a little hotel near the Eiffel tower - and a couple of times we had a room there with a view of it.
( if I'm very honest with you any view of anywhere in Paris is pretty spectacular - but for the sake of this post I'll stick with a view of the Eiffel Tower )

It's also no secret that once I discovered Pinterest I went a little crazy...............
I have 310 pins on Paris alone - and some of my favorite ones are windows with a view................
You can see all my Paris Pins HERE ( it's my favorite board by far )

Earlier this week I spotted a window in the garbage - which John graciously begrudgingly got out of our vehicle to retrieve for me - and had no idea what I would do with it...............

All I knew was that no DIY blogger could ever live with themselves if they let it go.................
(A year ago I would have been quite disgusted by it - do you see what you all have done to me here?)
Last night I was adding some images to Pinterest - when an idea was born!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted a room with a view - a precise view actually - a view of the Eiffel Tower................

And so I scrubbed the window and gave it a very light coat of ASCP Pure white- a very light coat because I wanted it to retain it's vintage look ( but it was a bit too creamy - yellow for me )
I then printed out a photo of the tower on regular paper - and scurried off to Block Poster to resize it.

This is a very quick project - really - quick projects are the only ones I do since I have zero patience.
I need instant gratification - or I'm easily distracted and on to the next one lol - this was about as instant as
I could get

First I took the lazy way very scientific precise measurements of each window pane so each page would fit perfectly
like this ( that's how lazy I am )

then I cut around the edges - and taped them to each panel.................

You see? A very simple way to have a temporary view of your favorite city or neighborhood ( or neighbor for that matter LMHO ) and it could be changed whenever you felt like " moving " to another part of the world..............Tuscany would be amazing wouldn't it?

up close it's pixelated because of enlarging it -

but from a distance ( God is watching us )
it's the perfect view for me to rest my eyes upon

Paris in the rain?
John stared at me as I was spraying the window with one hand and trying to take a photo with the other

John says - What are you doing exactly? Showing people that you washed it?
Suzan says - No - I'm showing them a view of Paris on a rainy day..............
John says - Why don't you toss some confetti at it to show it with snow?
John says - You know 50 or so years ago they locked women like you up - and walks away chuckling
He's saying that a lot lately - should I be worried?

Suzan says - Laugh if you want John - I know everyone else will appreciate the image
John says - You going to tell them you stood there with a spray bottle LOL ?

Ok - I'm going to take a break now - make a nice cup of tea - and sit and watch the rain pouring down on the Eiffel Tower................from my window.

John doesn't know I have plans for him now - I want a HUGE one like this - and I mean huge - he's going to have to build the window from scratch LOL

For now it rests against my wall of mirrors on my dresser - and just happened to be the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes this morning - a nice way to start my day ( as you can see, it had stopped raining by then )

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

I live in a pretty incredible area - in Montreal, It's an historical neighbourhood loaded with tons and tons of charm - and 20th century architecture, just steps away from the city center, it's also a pretty expensive neighbourhood ( in which I live in servants quarters basically compared to what I'm surrounded by )

Because there are days I don't have furniture makeovers to show you - I've chosen Wednesdays to showcase and feature one or two homes that are for sale around here.................( or apartment - or duplex - or teepee )Keep in mind this is in the heart of the city - so the prices reflect that - think Manhattan - where these places would cost 3 or 4 times what they're listed for here!On occasion I'll showcase beautiful homes in other areas - countries - continents - the one thing most of them will have have in common will be their age - because I love old homes with stories to tell, join me won't you?________________________________________________________________________Suzan says - John - pick a place anywhere in the worldJohn says - Why?Suzan says - just pick a place - John says - Scotland...........................And that's how we end up there this week folks lol - anyone care for a wee dram before we start???Welcome to Scotland ( prices are in POUNDS - not dollars ) Terraced brick houseOffers over 560,0004 bedroom - street parkingRealtor Simpson and MarwickCraigleith ( close proximity to Edinburgh's West End and Stockbridge ) What a beautiful home - loving all the fireplaces - especially the one in the nursery!!!

The next one starts at offers over 660,0003 bedrooms - 2 bathsOff street parking and garageRealtor Savallis EdinburghFor those of you that have been following this series for some time you'll noticethat these houses look very much like the houses in my neighborhoud Westmount ( Montreal ) Quebec - so we obviously had a very strong Scottish influence here -

The next one is a 2 bedroom flatOffers over 220,000Edinburgh - Realtor Murray Snell WS SolicitorsThis is a ground floor flat - converted from office space - I LOVE the character of this building and the floor to ceiling windows ( with AMAZING views ) Wouldn't it make a beautiful Pied a Terres right in the heart of things?

I think an industrial highly polished concrete floor would look fantastic in this place

And having this as your neighborhood would make all of the above priceless I would think